Thursday, 21 September 2017

Chocolate Brownies

We love chocolate brownies in our house. I usually adapt them so Rob can eat them too, but this time I used proper dairy butter, sorry Rob! I was holding Freyja whilst trying to mix the batter which wasn't the best idea as I couldn't get rid of the little pockets of spelt flour which resisted my efforts to combine everything. Luckily there were no complaints at our playgroup end of year party and there were none leftover! I am not sure whether I prefer the raw batter to the actual brownie to be honest, it is pretty moreish!

I used the Nigella Everyday Chocolate Brownie recipe and made some adjustments to what I had available in the cupboards. It apparently makes 48 brownies, but I halved the ingredients and cut at least 18. I just rounded up the numbers actually...

You will also need a greased and lined baking tin (33x23x5.5cm)
Set your oven to 180degC.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan

In a mixing bowl, mix together the vanilla extract, eggs and sugar

Pour the melted chocolate into the egg and sugar mix

Add the flour and the salt and mix well

It should be rich and glossy

Pour the batter into the baking tray

Amazing ripples of loveliness!

Bake at 180degC for about 25 mins until the brownie develops a kind of crust. Often it bubbles up but deflates when it is out of the oven.

Resist urge to eat it straight away!

Slice into squares. I trim the irregular edges and test them.

It wasn't my best brownie, due to the little lumps of flour but it was still delicious!

These brownies didn't contain any nuts because they were destined for the playgroup crowd, but chopped hazelnuts would be lovely. I'd love to combine cookie dough with brownies, but that will have to wait til next time or when I am suitably inspired by The Great British Bake Off.